Holder for paper cups



Sept. 16, 1952 H. cAREw HOLDER FOR PAPER CUPS 2 SHEETS,SHEET 1 Filed Aug. 26, 1947 lllllllllllllllllll llll Sept. 16, 1952 H. CAREW HOLDER FOR PAPER CUPS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 26, 1947 HIM EVEZTYEZ Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED ,STAT

ES PATENT OFFICE HOLDER FOB PAPER curs Herman Carew, Easton, Pa., assignor to Dixie Cup Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application August This invention relates to'improvements in aholder for paper cups, both the holder and the cups being of the-type highly suitable for use in soda fountains and similar locations for the dispe'nsing of sodas, hot or cold soft drinks, and the f "like, al-though'the invention will have other uses and purposes as will the art.

be apparent to one skilled in In soda fountainusage today, pickup holders are employed-to carry a p'apercup, especially a I conical paper cup, during the filling of the cupand during the consuming of the commodity with e 'which the'cup has been filled. These holders Yr automatically engage the cup sufficiently to eliminate the probability of the cup becoming accidentally dislodged from the holder just prior tofthe filling, during the filling operation, while the customer may be drinking fromthe cup, and

after the empty cup and holder are being returned to the place where the cup is manually removed'for discarding in a waste receptacle. Sometimes the cups are mounted in stacked nested relationship, inverted, in a. suitable con- 'tainer or rack on the counter, and the attendant grasps the holder by the bottom, holding it in inverted position, and places it axially over theuppermost cup on the stack. This axial movement alone is sufiicient, and the holder engages thecup when theattendant may simply by re- *taining his grip on the holder lift both cup'and holderiand take it' to-the place where it is filled with whatever commodity is ordered. When the 5 .cups are so stacked in inverted position, heavy ressure may be used when the holder is placed over the 1cup.: However, it. frequently happens that the cups are contained in adispensary either disposed vertically with the lowermost cup projecting out ofi therbottom of the dispenser,

or disposed horizontally on the counter with the, lowermost cup projectingv through the bottom of the dispenser. In such case, asudden pressure or a heavy pressure cannot be used too well because it may result in jarring the cups back into the holder. It is desirable,,thereforeto have a holder that will positively engage a cup, .solely upon an axial movement relatively to the cup. and upon an exceedingly light movement.

QWithsuch a holder the cups may then be suc ces'sively withdrawn from dispensers" of substan- V tially any 'type, or, picked up from an inverted stack upon the counter, as the casemay be, with lno danger of failing. to properlysecure the. cup 'in' theiholder, and with no danger of disturbing the remainderof the cups to such an extent that it may. be difiicult to place a holder over the v following cup.

26, -1947,'ser1a1 No. 770,674 "1 Claims. (01; 65 -si) With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instant invention to provide a holder for a paper cup embodying resilient and yieldable means positioned to automatically ,frictionally and bitingly engage'the outer tapering wall of a paper cup upon a simple relative movement in an axial direction between the cup. and

holder. w

Another object of the invention is-the provision of a holder containingresilient gripping ;means that yield with a cup as it seats in the. holder, or as the holder passes over thecup, whichever the casemay be, and thereafter resist atendency cup in the of the cup to move out. of the holder.

Another feature of the invention resides'i'n. the provision of a holder for paper cups, the holder being equipped with a plurality of relatively ,thin spring fingers having inwardly extending edge portions for frictional engagement with the smooth exteriorwall of a paper cup, to-ret ain-the holder against "accidenta islodgement- I 7 Y It is also a feature of this invention to provide a paper cup holder which may be made of any suitable material, and whichis provided with an insert of thin resilient metal, the insert being in the form of a disc disposed transversely'of the holder, and provided with a central aperture with radial slots leading away from'that aperture to define relatively flat broad fingers for: edgewise engagement with'the outerzwall of a paper cup to retain thefsame in the holder.

StillLanother object of this invention resides in the, provision of" a' holder for paper cups, which holder is provided with a? plurality :of "inwardly extending resilient fingers disposed for edgewise engagement with the wall of a paper cup,; the innerend portions of saidfingers beingturned downwardly at an oblique angle'to give with the cup entering the, holder; and resist-a tendency of the cup to move out ofthe holder. 1-,

A further object of the-invention 'resides in the provision'ofaholderfor aconical paper cup, -the holder being shaped to receive the cup apex first in a cup receiving cavity having an open bottom,

the open bottom being vtoo large for the adjacent portion of the cup walL-and theholder-being provided with highly resilient fingers extending inwardly beyond the confines of the openingin the bottom of the cup receiving'cavity to-frictionally engage the .wall of the lower portion of the cup. extending through-that cavity, whereby at that portion of theholder the fingersare the only parts of the holder actuallycontacting the cup wall.

It is also an object of this invention to provide the wall'oi'the'apical portion or the cupand'are flexed" downwardly, as better seen in Fig; 4. K The inner edges of these fingers bitingly engage the outer wall of the cupto such an extent that this wall is usually disrupted especially when'the cup is forcibly removed from the holder by the hands of the operator after use. Obviously, any disruption of the outer wall of the cup by thefingers is not suflicient toefiect a penetration of the wall. When the fingers engage the cup wall and are bent downwardly as seen in Fig. 4, a positive grip of the cup'wall by the fingers ensues, and this grip is sufficient to indent the cup as indicated at I 8 in Fig. 4 and change the cross-sectional contour of the cup wall in the plane of the fingers. In the illustrated instance, the cross-section of the cup wall at'the'plane of engagement will be in general a square as indicatedat IS in Fig. 5, .although both above and below the indented and distorted portion of the cup wall the wall remains round in cross-section. v r

With the fingers bendingbodily slightly downwardly at the time of engagement of the cup, plus the normally inclined end portions I! of these fingers, a firm and positive engagement on the cup wall by the edges of the fingers is insured, and as is obvious from the showing in Fig. 4, that engagement will tend to resist any movement of the cup out of. the holder. The cup is firmly locked in the holder against accidental dislodgement, and must be forcibly withdrawn from the holder by the hand of the operator when it is to be discarded. The inherent resiliency oi the fingers permits such withdrawal and then the fingers will assume the original position as seen in Fig. 3 prior to the engagement with the next cup.

The pressure necessary to effect the engagement shown best in Fig. 4 is only a light pressure because of the resilient character of the Thus, a cup may be withthough that disspring fingers l5. drawn from a dispenser, even for-bitingengageinent with the wall of the :cup,

said member being relatively thin; and said fingers having at least their 'innerend' portions turned obliquely downwardly.

' 2. A holder for a papercup,includinga. body portion defining a cavity to receive therein a paper cup bottom first; and a thin metallic disclike member in said holder having several radial penser is disposed horizontally, without disturbing the position of other cups inside the dispenser and regardless of how carelessly an attendant might act in engaging a cup in a holder, the engagement will always be sufliciently positive for all intended purposes.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided a simple form of cup holder equipped with means to effect a positive gripping action upon a paper cup even upon a very light pressure at the time of engagement. Further, it will be noted that by virtue of the opening 4 in the lower portion of the cup receiving cavity, theholder may be readily and thoroughly cleansed when that becomes necessary at infrequent intervals. The entire holder is very simple in construction, highly eflicient in operation, and may be economically manufactured and used.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A holder for a paper cup, including a body portion defining a cavity to receive therein a paper cup bottom first, and a disc-like member of thin metal in said holder having several radial slots therein connecting with a central opening to define an annular series of resilient fingers portion slots therein connecting with a central opening to define an annular series of resilient fingers for biting engagement with the wall of the cup, said fingers being relatively wide and having at least their inner endportions turned obliquely downwardly, and the inner ends of said fingers defining said central opening in polygonal form to cause distortion of the cup wall from its natural configuration. I z 3. A holder for a paper up, including abody defining an open. bottomed cup receiving cavity, said holder having an annular groove in the inner wall thereof-below the open bottom. of said cavity, there being an annular shoulder defining the underside-of said groove, and a disclike member having a downwardly turned flange extending obliquely outwardly snapped into said groove, said member having a central opening with a plurality of radial slots leading therefrom to define a plurality of resilient fingers extending inwardly to frictionally engage the wall of a cup extending through the bottom of said cavity.

4. A holder for a conical paper cup, including a body portion defining a cavity for the reception of a conical paper cup apex first, the wall of said cavity being outwardly bulged adjacent the bottom thereof, said cavity having an opening in the bottom through which the apical portion of the cup extends'and of greater diameter than the corresponding wall portion of the cup, said body portion having an annular groove in the inner Wall thereof just below said opening, and a relatively thin metal disc-like member inverted readily intn said groove, said disc hav ing a central opening with radial slots leading therefrom to define resilient teeth for biting engagement with the cup wall.

5. A holder for a conical paper cup, including a a tubular body portion of generally hour-glass shape externally, said body portion defining a tapering walled cup receiving socket therein with an opening at the bottom of the socket through which the apical portion of the cup extends, a relatively thin metallic disc-like holding element including a substantially horizontally extending annular portion attached to the holder adjacent said opening, and a plurality of downwardly inclined resilient fingers integral with said annular portion extending inwardly and radially from said annular portion beyond the boundary of said opening to irictionally engage the cup wall.

6. A holder for a paper cup, including a body portion defining therein a cavity to receive a paper cup bottom first, and a disc-like member of thin metal in said holder having a plurality of radial slots extending outwardly from a central opening through which the lower end of a cup extends, said slots defining an annular series of resilient fingers for biting engagement with the wall of a cup, said fingers having transversely straight cup engaging ends, the inner ends of said fingers being downwardly inclined.

7. A holder for a conical paper cup, including a body portion defining a cavity for the reception of a conical paper cup apex first, said cavity having an opening in the bottom through which the apical portion of the cup extends, and a one- Basements-011 11; The following references are of record in the Number Name Date 7 1.314141. W1l1,. v v Sept, 3,, 1872 166,350 Dodge Au 3; 1875 395,499 Waters an-1 1.889 533,092 Smith 1,, Jan. 29,,- 1 849.5 63651.6 Oliv r-" am 7., 19 2 Keller-fl m ,,1 Apr. 4,. 19.0.5

m 232145191 z i za sse 1 24. 1712. 25 19 2;: well-3i N mhe t FoREIGN PATENT-S- i Cerew Coun ry Date Great Britain ,TV Y App. 29,1903 G l fi B i ain i A Ma.y 118 6 

